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Your Look On Stage

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#242
I can appreciate what some of you guys are saying about looking the part. But there's a point where you're just trying too hard. I played with a guitar player who wore a $4,000 Armani double breasted suit to a gig that paid the band $250. First, the double breasted suit is way out of style, looked wrong for the part (Roadhouse style Blues), and the suit didn't flatter him. But it was a $4,000 Armani.:rolleyes:

I've also been to open Blues jams where guys are casually having a good time, and then some guy with no gig comes in wearing his fedora, bowling shirt, cheap sunglasses, and alligator shoes and wails random crap on his harp. He could dye his skin black, and get a pompadour, and it would still suck.

Sure, you want to look the part, but if you can't act the part, no-one is gonna watch you. If anything, if you're all dressed up and suck, then you look even more ridiculous no matter how serious you think you are. I've seen it from teenagers to groups of middle aged men who spent more time on how they were gonna look instead of how they are gonna play. The result is the same - they look ridiculous. Dress the part, but back it up or look like a dope.

Clothes are just one part of the show. A bunch of guys dressed up but staring at their shoes still look boring. Guys in t-shirts and jeans with energy can still put on a great show without looking like a "band". A show is about energy. You can generate that energy through visuals like clothes, but you can also do it with lights, stage moves, action, etc.
 
#243
You can wear jeans and a T-shirt and still look like you care about being entertaining if they fit you well, they don't look too cheap and plain, and you're good-looking yourself.

Showing up at open jams is another matter, of course. You're gonna spend most of the time in the audience, and a large chunk of the audience is probably musicians. That's a different social dynamic, and you gotta look appropriate for it.
 
#244
sonic assassin said:
you can kiss my young, chiseled ass :D

chicks dig this.

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"chiseled" is definitely a stretch here...
 
#246
Atticus said:
Something that's come up now that I'm emerging from the woodshed into a frequent gigging environment: I wear glasses, and they're something of a necessity, since I can't wear contacts and don't feel comfortable playing without some sort of vision correction. Unfortunately, glasses don't really contribute to a classic/hard rock style band, lighting can reflect off them poorly, and sunglasses, despite any cool factor, are highly impractical for indoor gigs. Is there any way to pull off glasses and still look like a rocker? Horn-rimmed glasses tend to swing towards alternative rock (I blame Weezer) and most notable glasses wearing rockers (Ozzy and Geddy Lee come to mind) have at least a partial tint.
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I'm in a similar boat. My daily glasses are bifocals, which don't work well when I'm playing. If I'm in a brightly lit stage I'll wear prescription shades, but dark shades on a dark stage doesn't work for me. The plan is to get either a pair of lightly tinted shades or gradients (if they still make them). I had a set of gradients in the 80's and loved them for playing. I'd recommend dressing up in gig clothing when going to try out frames and seeing what looks good on you. Bring a more fashion conscious friend if you're fashion challenged. As soon as I can scrape together enough extra $ I plan on buying a pair of gig only glasses.
 
#248
eeew, lets not talk about what's chiseled these days. lol:p I hate getting old and flabby! yuck. I'm gonna start wearing baggy clothes too.

whatever. it's all about the music now. I'm not getting paid so far.

Maybe clothes matter more when your young and might make it big, but I'm old. I like the casual looks in this thread.:)
 
#249
I got told by a girl at our last gig that we sounded great, but we looked like tired old blues musicians with state jobs.....
I looked at the vid and she was right..:crying:
We looked like a bunch zombies...complete with grey hair and not so flattering bodies...I cant get faith no mores Mid life crisis out of my head now...:D
Anyway, we have had long talks about this since then.
This thread has been a huge help. I am gonna send em a link to this.
 
#252
back in the day we thought it was cool to wear black Dickies tops and bottoms... we were cool!! Or we thought we were. I think seeing bands in a cool button down shirt and ripped faded jeans has a cool look. A bit of being dirty street clothes meets rock star!:bassist:

Now we just dress more comfortable and let the music speak for itself.
 

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#257
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Qvist said:
WOW!! You gotta tell me what bass that is, its AWESOME!! Btw, you rock ;D
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A bit late getting back here...that's the 84 Ibanez Destroyer bass. Not too hard to find... (And thanks!)

I found mine in a pawn shop in Wyoming when, uh, I had arrived at the gig, leaving my bass in Colorado. (ahem.) The truss rod was so loose that the action was about an inch high, and the output jack was almost falling out. (The owner threw in a set of hex wrenches, total of $170. Score!)
 
#258
bluewine said:
I think John Lennon had really poor eye sight, he wore the round wire rim glasses. Just thought I'd throw that out there.
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I think because Lennon started wearing them post Sgt. Pepper they're associated with Bed-Ins more than rockin' out. I do like the round frame shape though. Reminds me of the aforementioned Ozzy.

butchblack said:
The plan is to get either a pair of lightly tinted shades or gradients (if they still make them). I had a set of gradients in the 80's and loved them for playing. I'd recommend dressing up in gig clothing when going to try out frames and seeing what looks good on you. Bring a more fashion conscious friend if you're fashion challenged. As soon as I can scrape together enough extra $ I plan on buying a pair of gig only glasses.
Click to expand...

I need to remember that. Unfortunately, until I secure a position in a steady band fashion will have to take a back seat to improving equipment unless my prescription changes radically. I try to look classy enough on stage that I won't need separate pairs, but tints just look so damn cool.

It's kinda cool to see some response to this issue. Maybe we should start a Glasses-Wearing Bassists club.
 
#259
If anything, if you're all dressed up and suck, then you look even more ridiculous no matter how serious you think you are. I've seen it from teenagers to groups of middle aged men who spent more time on how they were gonna look instead of how they are gonna play.


True, I agree, it all comes back to playing.You can't look the part and then suck. You want a blend of great playing and appropriate dress based on age, body type, genre of music, the type of band your in, ect..
 
#260
fashion will have to take a back seat to improving equipment

Remember, your gear is a part of your stage presentation too.So with that said your really not taking a back seat in the improvment arena.
 
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